NORTH BRUNSWICK — The red charred steel was hauled out of the debris of the World Trade Center, and now a pair of granite hands hold it up to the sky. Around it free standing tablets bear the names of all the thousands killed that day.

But someone sprayed the word “HOAX” in black paint across the base of the memorial Sunday night. The authorities are looking for the vandal.

The town’s 9/11 memorial was defaced sometime late Sunday or early Monday, officials said today.